02/09/2005
NEWS STORY
The owners of the Circuit de Catalunya have revealed that the track, which hosts the Spanish round of the Formula One World Championship, is to increase its capacity over the winter.
With the rights to host the Spanish Grand Prix until 2011, and Spain about to celebrate 50 years of Formula One, the track is already looking ahead to the 2006 event, scheduled for May 12th - 14.
Extra seats will be added to grandstands A, L, N and I, an increase of 5,476 new seats, bringing capacity up to 71,609.
There will also be major improvements to the parking area and footbridges, in addition to the construction of new toilets.
In 2003 Barcelona received the FOM award as the best organized Grand Prix, while in 2005 all tickets were sold out with a record of attendance of 115,900 people.
The success of, local hero, Fernando Alonso, ensured that Spaniards attended the event in record numbers, whereas, historically, the locals have shunned F1 in favour of bike racing.